 Our Lompoc Public Library has exciting new features to offer our community, including a privacy pod that can be reserved for virtual meetings and other business, and an update to the learning and play wall in the Dick DeWees Early Learning Center.
The privacy pod, acquired through a grant from the California State Library, was installed in a remote area in the back of the main branch library on North Avenue and is ready for use by members of the public needing a private space to work, study, meet, or make telehealth calls. The pod is mostly, but not entirely, soundproof.
The pod can be reserved by adults ages 18 and older for either one- or two-hour increments, twice a week, during open library hours. The pod accommodates up to two people at a time and is wheelchair accessible.
The privacy pod can be borrowed by any patron over 18 with a library card who is in good standing with the library. Those wanting to reserve the pod should contact the library at 805-875-8775, or may inquire in-person at the library’s main branch.
In addition to the privacy pod, the Lompoc Library has installed a new interactive play and learning wall in the youth section of the library. This update to the existing play wall in the youth area includes educational, sensory toys that help babies and toddlers practice fine motor skills such as latches and buckles.
AND we are excited to welcome back the bookmobile's Book & Bubbles program for the fall. Join us Fridays at 10:30 a.m., Sept. 27 through Dec. 20.
 Years before the City of Lompoc was incorporated, the temperance colony of Lompoc was formed in 1874 by Mr. W. W. Broughton, a newspaperman and lawyer from Santa Cruz, and 100 farmers, ranchers and businessmen.
The 46,500 acres purchased by the group for a half million dollars consisted of the territory of the Lompoc and Mission Vieja de la Purisima Ranchos.
The land was divided into 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80-acre lots and was to be put up for auction. One square mile would be for the town itself and the rest would be for farmland. One block was set aside for a school (the original site is where El Camino is located). Lots were set aside for churches and fraternal organizations, and a 10-acre section was to be used for a cemetery.
There were good years ahead and bad ones in the early years of Lompoc, including a drought and a diphtheria epidemic. The strong early people of Lompoc persevered.
In 1888, the City of Lompoc was incorporated as a city and the rest is history. Happy 150th birthday of Lompoc's beginning as a temperance colony!
As our Lompoc Police Department fills much-needed positions, an increasing number of woman police officers are among its ranks. September 12 was National Police Woman Day, a chance to recognize our valuable female members of law enforcement.
The history of National Police Woman Day is an interesting one.
According to the website Days of the Year:
In the 1850s, the city of New York employed police matrons to guard and search prisoners who were females, but that was the extent of their duties, and they had no authority within law enforcement.
It is believed that the first female police officer in the United States was a woman named Marie Owens. Owens joined the police department in Chicago, Illinois in 1891, which was almost 30 years before women even earned the right to vote in the United States. She held the rank of Sergeant and was a specialist in enforcing child labor and welfare laws.
1910 brought the appointment of Alice Wells, a police woman in Los Angeles. A college educated social worker, Wells developed as a pioneer in the movement toward creating a place for more women in the police forces across the United States.
The history of women in law enforcement has continued to grow over the past century. Often fighting against discrimination and oppression, women now hold a vital part in police forces all over the United States and other places in the world as well. Though the number of women in the US police has grown from 3% in the 1970s to at least 13% in recent years, there is still a long way to go for gender equality.
These women are doing their part to close the gap. Way to go, officers!
 Members of our community, chaplains, the police department and city council again joined Lompoc City Fire this past September 11 for a ceremony at Lompoc Fire Headquarters in honor of the lives lost on that tragic day in 2001.
The ceremony began at 6:50 a.m. At 6:58 a.m., the time on the west coast the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, flags were lowered to half-staff, and a moment of silence was observed. Together, we commit to never forget.
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The City of Lompoc is soliciting proposals from planning, architectural and engineering firms that can design pre-approved plans to assist in the permitting and construction of Lompoc accessory dwelling units in an efficient and cost-effective manner to promote more housing opportunities in the City of Lompoc.
Proposals for this Permit Ready Accessory Dwelling Unit Program (PRADU) are due to the City of Lompoc Purchasing Division by September 30, and the request for proposal (RFP) can be reviewed at: Purchasing Division Website.
Questions about the proposals for this project may be submitted to City of Lompoc Planning Manager Brian Halvorson at b_halvorson@ci.lompoc.ca.us.
Unfortunately, a vandalism to lights at Ken Adam Park has prompted our parks crews to temporarily remove the flags there as the flags cannot be properly lit at night.
We are working on a fix for the lighting.
Vandalism at our city parks is an ongoing issue. If you see a vandalism in progress, please report it to Lompoc police by calling (805) 736-2341, or via the Lompoc Police Department mobile app.
At the September 3 Lompoc City Council meeting:
Council approved the following items on the consent calendar by unanimous vote:
- Approval of Minutes of the Lompoc City Council Regular Meeting of July 2,
2024.
Council Requests (approved by unanimous vote):
Non-Resident Fee Surcharges – Lompoc Landfill
Recommendation: Council make no changes to the Lompoc Landfill (Landfill) fee structure for non-jurisdictional users (more commonly referred to, but inexactly, as non-residents). The revenue impact would likely be minimal.However potential outcomes include: increases in adversarial encounters with customers of the Landfill, increased queuing time for all customers, reduced rather than increased revenues due to more competitive fee structures at neighboring Landfills, increased risk of illegal dumping of waste in the city’s alleys and streets, as well as other possible negative results.
Unfinished Business: Discussion of Addressing Homelessness in Light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson.
New Business (approved by unanimous vote, with addition of council requests): Approval of Independent Contractor Services Agreement with Lompoc Unified School District for the School Resource Officer Program.
Next Council Meeting: Sept. 17, 2024, 6:30 p.m., City of Lompoc Council Chamber
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